Josh Gordon has never played an NFL game sober. That has to change if he plans to play in another one.
One day before the Cleveland Browns wide receiver got another shot at rebooting his career, Gordon, 26, revealed in a candid magazine interview that he used drugs or alcohol before every game of his career -- pro or college.
Gordon, who was reinstated on a conditional basis by Commissioner Roger Goodell last week after being suspended for nearly three years, told GQ he drank or smoked marijuana before "every game. Probably every game of my career."
The former Pro Bowler did the interview before meeting with Goodell in New York. Gordon said he began to take drugs in seventh grade, and outlined a pregame routine as a pro where he would do shots of alcohol to "get the motor running."
"We would stay at the team hotel, and then players are allowed to go back home, get what they need and then go to the game," Gordon said. "So I'd leave the hotel early [in the] morning, go home, eat breakfast, do my little ritual, whatever it may be, some weed, some alcohol and then go to the game. And then, I'd definitely be partying after every game, win or lose. Every game."
Coach Hue Jackson said Gordon's disclosure won't change the team's decision to accept him back.
"I think he was letting things out, if that is what was said," said Jackson, who coached Gordon before he checked himself into rehab in 2016. "I think he was cleansing himself of his past, and I get that a little bit, but again, I think he said what he felt he needed to say."
Jackson said he planned to sit down with Gordon and discuss his disclosures, which included him saying "a bunch of guys smoke weed before the game. But we're not talking about them."
Gordon has been suspended three times for multiple violations of the league's substance-abuse policy. During his first stint with the Browns, Gordon said he found ways to cheat the league's rules.
"If I had already been drug tested that week, or the day before the game, I knew I had a couple of days to buy to clean my system," he said. "Even before I was getting tested for alcohol, prior to my DWI in 2014, I would take the biggest bong rip I could. And try to conceal all the smell off my clothes."
Gordon has missed 51 games since 2014 because of the suspensions, but he is now allowed to attend team meetings and work out by himself. As long as he fulfills the requirements set out by Goodell, Gordon can begin practicing with the Browns on Nov. 20.
Jackson said he's not worried that Gordon is painting a gloomy picture to get out of playing for the winless Browns.
"I don't think he is trying to do that," Jackson said. "I do need to feel comfortable that he is not. If he is coming back to play football, I think he needs to play football here. There is no other place that he can do what he needs to do in the National Football League. I am talking about as far as playing. It is right here."
Lightning strike
Former Belgian soccer player Denis Dasoul, 34, was killed Sunday when struck by lightning while surfing.
According to the Mirror, a British publication, Dasoul was visiting the Indonesian island of Bali where he was being taught to surf. He and his instructor were killed instantly when struck at around 2:15 p.m. local time Sunday while off the Batu Bolong beach in Canggu.
"They were finishing their session and sitting up on their boards. Both men fell off their boards and sank into the water," a witness said.
Both men were taken to the hospital about half an hour later after being recovered from the water, but police spokesman Johannes H. Widya Nainggolan confirmed they had "died on the spot."
Sports quiz
Where did Josh Gordon play college football?
Answer
Gordon played at Baylor before being taken by the Cleveland Browns in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft.
Sports on 11/10/2017